Economic sentiment in Cyprus rises marginally in April, ERC says

The economic sentiment in Cyprus rose marginally in April, driven by stronger business confidence in services and industry, and firmer consumer confidence, the University of Cyprus’ Economic Research Centre has said.

The Economic Sentiment Indicator ESI, complied by the ERC, accelerated by 1.5 points in April 2018 compared with the previous month, reaching 119 points.

“The increase was driven by stronger business confidence in services and industry, and firmer consumer confidence,” the ERC said.

The Services Confidence Indicator increased as a result of firms’ more optimistic views on their past business situation and their past demand, the ERC added, noting that the Retail Trade Confidence Indicator declined as a result of deterioration in firms’ assessments of their stock volumes, and downward revisions in sales expectations.

The Construction Confidence Indicator deteriorated due to the firms’ more pessimistic views on their current level of order books, while the Industry Confidence Indicator increased as a result of improved assessments of current orders and stock volumes of finished products.

The increase in the Consumer Confidence Indicator was driven by upward revisions in consumers’ expectations about their future financial conditions and savings, and the future economic conditions in Cyprus, the ERC added.